Lithium
by xRainyx
Summary: There's gods and there's titans. There's warmth and there's cold. There's Life, and there's Lithium, the concentration camp for Half-Bloods. Hundreds have gone in. None have come out. Will I be any different?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Just a warning, this story is pretty dark (That's why it's rated (T). So just a warning... This has been co-written by Rainy and Amy, so it should be interesting to see what comes of two different writing styles. Enjoy!**

**XXXX**

_Knock!_

That was the noise at my window that woke me up at about 3:00 in the morning. I didn't much care. I mean, I hear noises all the time, but as long as I still have all of my limbs, sleep overpowers everything. That's why I decided to roll back over and shut my eyes, focusing on nothing but the fact that in less than a week, I'd be off at Camp Half-Blood. At least, that had been the plan.

Not 45 seconds later, though, I heard it again. _Knock!_ It was louder, though, like someone was trying extra hard. Still, I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled up the comforter, not minding that it was a boiling hot early morning in June.

Then weird things started happening. It started with the window shattering, and ended with a person jumping into my bedroom. Okay, so maybe now I should consider getting up, eh? I didn't need to; someone dragged me out of bed.

"Oh, gods! WHAT THE FUDGE!!!!?"

"Rainy," whispered the voice. It wasn't exactly menacing or scary, just… urgent, like a person looking at Niagra Falls who really had to go to the bathroom.

I was on my feet now, trying to run. Where? Heck, I was probably heading back to my bed, but I never got there. All I got was a dart in the back of my neck, and I was down.

I woke up to sunlight. That wasn't much comfort, but at least it was there. I was in a cell, like behind bars, with a bolted closed and barred window and drinking fountain. I don't think I'd be drinking from that thing anytime soon, though.

Now I was on my feet, trembling, sweating, and close to tears, blocking out everything around me. I didn't want to take in my surroundings, I wanted out.

Someone walked by the bars that held me in. Who? More like what? It looked like a cross between a basilisk and a minotaur. I do not wanna know how that came to be.

"You freaked?" asked a voice from behind me.

Okay, so I was tired, and confused, and scared all at the same time, so I pretty much freaked out when I heard this kid talk to me. I jumped, like, three feet in the air.

"Who—?"

The boy held up one of his bony, caramel colored hands, and I looked at him with wide eyes. He had a dark complexion, and darker hair. It wasn't exactly black, but it wasn't brown either. It was more like a smoky gray. The stood up, not seeming to mind that his shoes were falling apart and his clothes were patched. "I'm Tom," he said, offering a hand.

"Rainy."

What else could I do? I shook it, and then let it drop. "Where are we?" I asked, looking around. "Why am I here?"

"That's two different questions. This place is called Lithium, which is a chemical that they used in the—"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, cutting him off. "I know that. I mean, I know what Lithium was used for, but what is this place?"

"Lithium's like…" He thought, trying to word this without freaking me out any more than necessary. "Have you learned about the Holocaust?"

"Dear Zeus, I don't like where this is going," I muttered.

Tom sighed. "Well, yeah, this place is like a concentration camp… for Half-Bloods."

"Holy crap!" I screamed, looking around. I didn't like what I saw. "You mean to tell me that they take Half-Bloods here and…?"

"Yah-huh," said Tom, nodding.

"I can't die! I haven't even graduated from 8th grade yet! I mean, that's gotta count for something!" I was crying, figuring that ding was really supposed to suck. "And—and—and—Sunshine wants me to come on her talkshow sometime soon. I can't die before I do that! I—I already got Amy a birthday present—and—and—Sarah was gonna teach me how to horseback ride!"

Tom seemed saddened by this, but didn't seem to have anything to say. I guess there was nothing he could say. "It'll be okay" would be a lie, and "We'll get out of this" would be a promise.

All I could do and all I did for the next few minutes was cry. I mean, granted I had some pretty bad things happen to me before, but this had to top it all off. I wasn't even exactly sure what the holocaust was. I knew about Anne Frank and Hitler, but never seemed to completely understand what a concentration camp was. Right now, that really didn't matter. All I was focused on now is getting out alive.

"You've gotta act strong when around them." Tom said, after a few minutes.

"What?" I said, drying my eyes with my pajama shirt. Tom leaned against the gray brick wall and sat on the cold dirt floor. I began to wonder how long he had been here.

"You heard me." He said. "They only keep the strong ones, the weak ones, well…" I didn't let him finish the sentence.

"Okay, I get it." I cut him off, pushing my messed up hair into a ponytail so that it stayed safely out of my face. "How…how long have you been here?" I finally managed to ask. Tom's dark eyes became interested in the dirt on the ground, or he was just deep in thought.

"Well, not long. Maybe a day or two, but long enough to learn my way around." He answered plainly. I nodded silently, suddenly noticing how horrible he looked. I was just now seeing the dark bags under his eyes, the tears in his clothing.

"Oh." Was all I had time to say, because at that moment, a figure appeared on the other side of the bars, apparently holding a clipboard of some kind. I kept my gaze away from it.

"I'm looking for Subject D874." It said in a deep, throaty voice. I could feel an icy gaze on me as I looked up hoping my eyes would portray a response to his call. Yes, his. I didn't think much of it then, but this guy was human. I later learned that the people around here were the lost half-bloods. Never claimed, or taught to believe the gods were evil. Who knows? This guy calling my name could be killing his own half-siblings.

"Your hand, look at your hand." Tom whispered. With a shaky breath, I stared at the palm of my right hand. Sure enough, in big black printed letters, it read, D874.

"That…that's me." I said between gasps. The person outside's face stayed the same. I noticed now that he had a black suit on, all black. His belt carried a rod like those long black ones police officers use, and a whip. I didn't want to know what they were used for. He also had on a pair of dark sunglasses that covered his eyes.

"Come with me." He said plainly, reaching into his belt for keys. My hands trembled violently as I started to get up, but my legs gave way and soon I was on the ground again. My muscles tensed, but I was sure to keep quiet out of fear. Tom got up and reached his hand out to me, his eyes filled with a mix of regret, sympathy, and fear. I let him help me up and lead me a few steps to the door. From the look on the man's face, he didn't seem to like this. Once I got to the door, he grabbed me roughly by the arms and thrust me in front of him. I heard the door slam shut before we started walking.

I was lead to a small gray building, about the size of a large gas station, only instead of gas pumps, they were shower stalls. I was lead through a dark gray door, and I could've sworn I saw a blood stain on the handle. The man holding me had a rough grip on my bare arm, squeezing them so tightly; I saw them turn white under the pressure. I winced in pain.

Inside the building, it looked more like a waiting room in Tartarus. The walls were the same gray as the outside of the building, so was the floor. Only the floor was covered in foot marks, tear stains, and other unidentifiable marks that I didn't want to think about. Before I could say anything, I was pretty much whipped on the ground. Since he flung me by my arms, I barely had time to catch myself. I landed on the concrete ground with great force. I tasted the blood in my mouth as a few tears escaped my eyes. Wiping them away, I looked up to see the man gone.

_Well that was polite,_ I thought, sarcastically of course. Real considerate, eh? I tried making light of the situation, but the truth was the truth; we were all going to die. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go home, to Camp Halfblood. I wished more than anything for Sarah, Amy, or Sunshine to be here. I didn't want to go through this alone.

It didn't take me long to realize I wasn't the only one here. I felt movement in the room. "Hello?" I called out. I heard more shuffling from the corner.

"H-hello?" A squeaky, broken voice said from the corner. Once my eyes adjusted, I could see who it was.

She was a little girl, couldn't be more than seven or eight, with long black hair that was embedded with dust and sticks. I remembered her faintly from camp.

"Hey, I know you." I said quietly, not knowing if they were listening. "You're that girl who broke her leg during capture the flag a few months ago…what's your name again?"

The little girl hesitated, like she wasn't sure what to say. Then, she moved a little closer to me. "Havana. My name is Havana." I nodded. Havana, that's a unique name.

"Okay." I stopped at that when a man with a flashlight came in. Behind him, stood the mutant Minotaur I had seen earlier. He looked hungry, like he craved for food. This is it, I'm going to die. I thought, breaking into a cold sweat. The man, a different man from before, stepped in front of us.

"Stand up." He said. Without any help this time, I stood up and so did Havana. The Minotaur's eyes glared from me to Havana. I felt like a bug under a microscope, as if every part of me was being examined, overlooked, judged. I felt Havana shoot me a questioning look, but I didn't dare look at her. I had no idea what the two had in mind. Finally, after what seemed like minutes of silence, the man reached for me to lead me out the door I came into. This man led me out with a not-so-tight grip. I took one glance back to see Havana being whisked away by the Minotaur in the opposite direction.

"Where is he taking her?" I whispered just loud enough so that the man could hear. I felt a strong lash to my side. Fighting back tears, I soon realized what the whips were for.

"You weren't asked to speak." The man said in a deep, emotionless voice. I kept my head down towards my feet as we walked.

He led me to one of the shower stalls where I was hoping for a hot shower and a warm towel at the least. What I got was thirty seconds under a spout of ice-cold water, and a large rag that I could tell had been used more than once. After that, I was given a change of clothes, which consisted of a pair of light gray pants, a gray t-shirt, stained socks and matching, just-as-dull sneakers without laces, and a thin gray blanket, which I draped over my shoulders. Low-spirited, I was led back to the cellar I had been confined in earlier.

"How'd it go?" Tom asked once I arrived. I didn't answer him, so he kept asking questions. "Well, you made it out alive." This comment startled me, and my mind flashed back to Havana being taken by that monster.

"What do you mean?" I asked my voice still shaky. Tom bit his lip.

"They could've killed you."

"Oh, thanks for the newsflash." I said sarcastically, but his gaze was serious.

"Really, though." He said. "They took you to that room, right?" I nodded and he kept on. "When I said they killed the weak ones, I was serious."

With that, the hairs on my back stood up. Havana! What had they done to her? My questions were answered in the coming minutes when I saw a cart roll by.

"Don't look." Tom warned, but I looked anyways.

Tears stung my eyes at the sight. The cart was filled with dead bodies of kids from camp. The first body at the top was turned my blood to ice, and I shivered, whispering what the body had once been. "Havana!?"

Tom sighed and nodded, staying in his corner and hugging his knees, his eyes staying solid. "Stormy, don't—"

"It's Rainy!" I shouted, whipping around, and Tom pushed against the wall. I guess he didn't much want to be the center of my fury, but it was too late. I needed someone to get my anger out on, and, for now, my cellmate was the only one for that. "And do you realize we could've done something, anything, to help her!? She died because… because…"

"Because there's no mercy in this world?" offered Tom, standing up and coming to me.

I sniffed, and then sighed, my head pounding. "Yeah…" I agreed, wavering, half of me hoping Tom would catch me, and the other half wanting nothing to do with him.

Tom stepped back, his smoky hair shading his eyes, and her turned away. "Get some rest," he warned me, pulling himself onto his bunk.

"But…" I stole a glance out the barred window. "The sun's just starting to rise."

He shot me a glance with those piercing eyes, and then turned over, mumbling into his pillow, "Don't matter… In a camp like this you need all the rest you can get."

I sniffed, figuring that I shouldn't argue with the only one who seemed to be on my side, and crawled onto my own bunk, pulling up the papery sheet and shivering. Heck, I would've been warmer with a sheet of ice.

Odd enough, it didn't take long to get myself to sleep in a strange new place like this. I guess I longed for an escape and, at the moment, dreaming was the best I could do. In fact, within the next five minutes, I had already cried myself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

What seemed to be an hour later, yet at the same time it could've been only minutes, I was awoken by a blood-curdling screech. Rubbing my eyes, it took me a few seconds to remember where I was, hoping it had all been a bad dream. It wasn't. I was still here in this dark, unwanted place in these dull gray clothes on this bloody mattress that I was sure more than one life had slipped away on. Right then, I felt like crying all over again.

The bunks we slept on weren't exactly "bunks," as one would like to call them. They were pretty much just a thin mattress set on the ground with a pillow and the thin blanket that they provided you. So when I went to get up, I simply rolled off the mattress. Sunlight blinked through the bars of the cell, as if mocking the fact that I was locked up inside a cage in a concentration camp that was enclosed in high electric fences and littered with guard towers.

"Rainy? You up?" I heard Tom ask from behind me. I turned my head around slowly to see that he was sitting up on the mattress, staring intently at me. Before I could answer, the screeching I had heard earlier continued.

"Yeah," I said faintly, focusing my interest on the screeching. It sounded like it was coming from another cell more to the left of us. "Hey… what's that noise?" I asked Tom, who already was about to answer.

"That," he said, motioning his arm in the direction of the noise, "is what happens when someone with bad ADHD goes days without a medication." There was another screech. The scary thing was is that I couldn't tell what the person was screaming about. Like, I couldn't tell whether the person was scared, hurt, or hungry.

"Oh…" I shuddered at the thought. For a few moments, I sat there silently as I watched another man dressed in black followed by a mutant Minotaur enter the cell where the screams were coming from. I felt my heart skip a beat as a few loud thumps were heard. "Are they…?" I didn't finish my sentence.

Tom nodded. "Yes, they are." The loud thumps continued as I sat against the wall, keeping my eyes covered, trying to clear my head. Every time there was another screech in pain and horror, I would tense up and flinch furiously. So furiously that by the time the pounding stopped, my body felt weak enough to faint. It wasn't long before a limp body was tossed out on the ground. This time, I kept my eyes off of it. Once I heard someone come by and pick it up, I looked up to Tom.

"So… d-does this happen all the time?" I asked him, my hands quivering at the question. He nodded grimly. So much death here, maybe this was Tartarus.

"I'd…I'd like to say that you'd get used to it, the death and all…" Tom began to say. "The truth is, you really don't." He got up from his side of the cell and sat next to me. "It's like, everyday, another life is taken away. Every day, somebody dies here too soon." I could tell he had been alone for a long time, here in Lithium, and he somewhat liked having someone to talk to, someone to share his thoughts with. At first, we just stared into each other's eyes, as if digging through our own thoughts as well as the other persons', and for that one moment, we felt each other's fears, desires, and needs. And for one tenth of a second, I forgot where I was, I felt safe.

"I… I can see where you're coming from y'know, kinda." I broke the awkward silence between us. Tom blinked and smiled faintly, nodding as he turned his sad gaze away, to look into the distance. I let my head rest on the cold, hard wall, letting my eyes close.

It wasn't long before I could hear a blaring horn in the distance, and just like that I was brought back to reality.

"What in Hades name was that?!" I jumped, startled. Before I got an answer, though, a sudden organized line of men in black suits and sunglasses seemed to materialize at the door, coming to each cell, two of them per cell.

"Laboring," Tom mumbled under his breath. I didn't want to know entirely what that was. My heart was racing at the speed of light when two bulk men unlocked our door and came in. One yanked Tom up from where he was sitting, the other grabbed me. Along with the plenty other Half-Bloods, we were lead to a much larger building that was had a solid cement fence wrapped around it. Everyone wore the same gray uniforms; everyone had the same broken look on their face.

The first part of the building was basically a large, brightly lit room, about the average size of a middle school gymnasium. From there, I felt the man's grip release me, just as others had done. I took a good look around the room. What looked to be over a hundred kids, ranging in age from about five to eighteen. Some had soiled, tattered clothing, like they hadn't changed for days. Others, a small amount, had clean, partially smudged clothing. This confused me, but for some reason it didn't bother me much. Every kid had that same confused look on them as the men in black walked around the area with their whips in hand. I held my breath, slowly watching each kid form a single file line facing forward, shoulder to shoulder- as a kindergarten teacher would say. I followed silently.

I hadn't a clue where Tom was. I had lost him in the craziness of getting here. My thoughts were very vague now; they consisted of following and listening. I moved slowly, my feet dragging. I noticed the men whipping other kids with the sturdy whips in their hands, and it wasn't long before I felt a lash in the middle of my back. I turned around, my eyes paned with tears.

"Hey! Move faster!" The man with the whip said, giving me another lash. The second one came harder, which caused me to fall to the concrete ground.

"Ow." I groaned, feeling hot tears roll down my cheek, which was now scraped up and bloody from the fall. In the coming moments, I knew I would regret my actions. The man who had hit me with the whip reached down and yanked me up by my arm so I stood up, looking straight at his hidden eyes.

"What did you say?" His voice was rough and strained, his expression was furious. Even more tears flooded my eyes as I sniffled.

"N-nothing." Was all I could manage to squeak. As of now, some people were already staring, all of them in rows facing the front. It looked like they were taking a huge head count of some sort.

"_Don't_ lie to me!" He yelled in my face, shaking me by the arm vigorously. In the midst of all this, I felt a large hand on my shoulder. The man holding me in his grip looked up ahead of me. "Officer Spealy, we have a problem here," the same man said. Apparently the man who had my shoulder was Officer Spealy. I shivered in fear, feeling the hot tears flow down my cheek.

"I see…" was the man behind me, apparently Officer Spealy's, response. Right now, I had no idea what to think besides _oh gods; they're going to kill me._ I mean, what else is one supposed to think?

"What should we make of her?" The man in black said. Officer Spealy's grip on my shoulder shoved me round so I spun to stare him down. _If I'm going down, I'm not going down pathetic._ As soon as I looked upon the officer, though, any bravery left stored away turned to fear. Officer Spealy was a heavily built, pale man that reminded me of a pro wrestler. He grabbed my right hand and bent it back as far as it could go. I didn't dare make a sound, but it hurt.

"Subject D784 is part of the fourth recruit group." Officer Spealy said, closely examining my hand. He looked up. "It'll have to go without it meals today, then," he said, and I figured that this 'it' he was talking about referred to me, as if I were an animal or something.

"Yes, sir."

I sighed in relief. So they weren't going to kill me, at least not yet. Seconds later, I was shoved into one of the rows. I felt a few curious and sympathetic eyes turning my way, but soon I realized that things like that happen every day. Wiping a bloody tear from my cheek, I stood there trying not to think too much, or else I may have broken down in tears again.

After a while, I found out what they were doing: taking a head count. We had been standing around for who knows how long because the person counting kept losing track. People around me shifted uncomfortably. One kid dared to slump his tired shoulders down, but he was smacked in the head with the black rod. I felt the blood on my cheek dry up as we stood in silence. The bright lights gave me a headache, plus my whole body ached from what had happened earlier. Before I knew it, I was shaking again, slightly though.

After the longest wait in my life, the whole groups of half-bloods were brought outside to the hot June day. Well, it wasn't exactly hot, just very muggy. The sun was shining bright on full power. Ya know, that whole destiny of the sun exploding didn't seem too big of a deal now…

Outside, we were split into various chores and tasks. Some kids were told to work in the coal and lumber yard, where they prepared burning fuel. Some helped clean up around the compound (not like it would make much of a difference), others were given the job of sorting chemicals. _Lucky me_! I got to sort chemicals.

Imagine sticking your hand into a big basin of poison and filling up a pint-sized cup only to throw it in a pipe that lead to the underground showers. Not fun, I can tell you that right now. For half the day, I was sticking my hands in chemicals that burned so bad, the skin around my hands started peeling off. The burning sensation it made on my skin was almost unbearable. I had to keep on, because if you were caught not doing your job, you'd be whipped.

There was one time where a girl, about my age, her hands began to have a spazz attack any time she would place them in the chemical. Her hands were red with white blotches. It got to the point where she couldn't put her hands in the chemical liquid anymore. She sat there, crying in fear, for she knew the men in black would come for her. When they did, it was brutal. I couldn't see her, but the whole camp heard her shrieks for help. What was scary was when the shrieks stopped. It was dead silent for a few scary moments as everybody stood frozen in place. It wasn't long before a mutant Minotaur came out with the cart.

Once the chemical tub was down to about nothing, we headed back to our cells. Although officers didn't escort us, nobody would ever dare to escape. The electric fences were deadly, and there were ten watch towers guarded by mutant Minotaur's.

Once I got to the cell, Tom was already there.

"Hey," he said his voice was filled with exhaustion and worry. He had been working in the lumberyard all day, or so he told me. I didn't answer him at first. I walked slowly to the metal water fountain in the cell and rinsed my hands off in the small spout of water. Although that didn't do any good, it still felt nice to get some water on my body. The sun was just setting, turning the sky pink.

I got down, but soon slowly sat up on the ground. Every position I tried inflicted more pain. I let a few tears escape my eyes before focusing on Tom.

"_Rainy_, you okay?" Now his voice was weak, but worried as always. He started to get up by me, but I backed up.

"No," I said firmly, but I grew less sure with each word. "I'm fine. I'm fine… I'm…" I was crying, rocking back and forth on my feet, shaking uncontrollably and trying to let it all out. "I'm not fine!" I shouted.

Tom looked at me, wide eyed as if he'd never seen anything like this before, sympathy shimmering across his eyes. Maybe I even saw a tear or two, but I don't know. I was on the ground, hugging myself, trying to calm myself down. Tom clenched and unclenched his jaw, as if deciding whether I was worth keeping alive, and then retired to his corner, sighing and keeping his eyes carefully focused on nothing in particular.

_So this is what it's like to not be loved…to be in a Hell picked out especially for you..._ I rolled over and began to sob quietly, for fear of the men hearing me and thinking I was too weak to keep.

"Zeus, protect me," I muttered into the bars.

Tom seemed to pick this up and turned to give me an odd look like I had just suggested that we should have a prom here at Lithium. "The gods can't hear you here. This place has a boundary, too, just like that camp of yours does, only it's different. It keeps out the gods; only let's in monsters and heroes."

At the mention of camp, there seemed to be a warm spark of air around us, and I could feel everyone in neighboring cells look up from there sorrows and remember a safer time. As much as I reflected on this, something bothered me about what he said.

"What do you mean 'camp of _mine_'? You've been there, haven't you…?"

Tom shook his head. "No. But I've heard enough about it. Kids round here, they keep themselves from breaking down by talking. And me? I'm the one who listens. I try to help when I can."

"Do you know who you're—"

"No." He answered immediately. "And I wouldn't want to. If I knew, then I'd be angry with whoever they are for letting me be taken to a place like this… For keeping a distance…" he turned to the wall, refusing to let me see his face, and, for a few moments, we sat in silence.

Through my wet eyes I could see him trembling, and there was a small quiver in his voice as he tried to talk calmly. "How do you do it?" he demanded quietly.

"Do what?" I asked.

He sniffed and continued to stare into space. "How did you get me to trust you so much? How did you get me to tell you… _everything_?"

I just looked at him, not understanding. He didn't seem to be accusing me of anything, just seriously curious. "I don't…" but I didn't have to say anymore. All I could do was feel my heart pumping fast as if I'd just run a mile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a crack in the corner, and, for the first time, I saw a vine thriving in the little space, and a rose forming at my will, radiating the hope that I felt for the first time in what seemed like forever

**A/N- About the flower growing thing, Rainy is a daughter of Demeter ^.^ **

**Thank you Journalist for helping me out with the story, you rock! BTW, this doesn't matter much now, but this story is kind of like a prologue for Journalist's story ****Band of the Authors, ****which is another story I am co-authoring with her and a few other people. This is part of the reason why I'm using my penname. To get more info, you may want to consider reading the story. You can find the story and Journalists' profile in my "Favorites" section. Be sure to check my website (link in profile) regularly! I may have a page up for this story soon. **

**Reviews and flames are accepted :) **

**~Rainy **


	3. Chapter 3

As darkness drew upon the compound, campers were lead out of their cells and into the same large building I had been in before. I had a good idea what this was: meal time. It was then that I realized how hungry I was, so hungry that it hurt like a thousand tiny knives sticking into my stomach. Considering the incident this afternoon though, I figured I wasn't allowed to have dinner. That's why I didn't even bother to get up when an extra guard came to our cell. Tom left without passing me any look of sympathy. I took that as one of his little ways of protecting himself, as well as me. Whilst he was gone, I was alone in the cell. All I really did was sit there, staring out the bars of the cell, past the electric fences, thinking.

_Gosh, if only I could just crawl outside those fences…_ I daydreamed. My eyes followed a deserted road outside the compound, staring longingly as a cherry red minivan drove by. _What do they see? Obviously not what people inside see. _

Freedom… that was what I longed for. Freedom wasn't just on the other side of those fences, freedom was the world around you. Freedom was the way your ability to tilt your head back into the wind and throw your arms to the sky, feeling the little droplets of rain that would soon start a thunderstorm. I wanted that freedom, and right now I wasn't anywhere close to getting it.

I took a deep breath and held it in until Tom returned.

When he came back, he didn't bother to greet me or go to his corner. What he did was walk over to his bunk and wrap something in the blanket. Then he walked over to me and set it next to me, his eyes were filled with a purposeful action. Blinking my response, I took a peek under the blanket. There sat a stale piece of bread.

"You'd better savor that." Tom said, his voice was thin and quiet. "That wasn't easy to grab." I shook my head.

"Tom… you really didn't have to…" I tried to protest, but he calmly stepped back.

Tom waved his hand, shaking his head as he responded. "No, I really _did_ have to."

I was about to protest a little more when he jabbed his finger my way. "Eat, or be eaten," he threatened, and I decided to take that threat seriously. I guess that was one of his strange little ways of showing that he cared.

I picked up the bread and nibbled a corner of it. Gross, it was moldy. I almost put it down, but stomach moaned in complaint, as if begging me to eat more. I bit off another piece and chewed it thoroughly.

Just when I thought things were finally calming down, though, those little raindrops turned into a storm and knocked me over as the heavy metal door at the end of the hallway was thrust open, and two voices—one screaming and one crying—became audible.

"GET OFF ME!" screamed the heavier voice, booming against everyone's soul like mallets on a drum. "Put me down now you f—king bastards! LET ME GO, OR SO HELP ME ZEUS—"

There was a sickening _thwomp_, and the voice faltered. A set of nearby rusty hinges creaked, and then there was only silence, except for faint whispers and groans, both coming from the neighboring cell.

I leaned against the hard, brick wall, looking at Tom in hopes that he'd make the first move, but he just kept listening to the silence as it grew heavier.

I took a deep breath and did my best to lock eyes with him. _Should we do something?_ I mouthed, my eyes shining.

Tom, just as curious as I was, jerked his head back. _You…_ he replied silently.

I breathed through my nose and stood up, looking out a small, barred window about the size of a shoebox that led to the other side of the wall. From there, I whispered as faintly as possible, "Hello?"

A face popped up in the window so fast that I staggered back, and might've fallen, but Tom was up with ninja like moves, and he balanced me out.

"Who are you?" the girl immediately demanded. I was at a loss for words, having talked to no one besides Tom in what seemed like so long.

The girl crinkled her nose; her milk chocolate colored face shadowed in the dim light, and her black her seeming to melt into the shadows. "Damn it, answer me."

Before I could do anything, Tom was at the window, speaking lowly to her, and, although he'd never show it, I sensed a bit of intimidation that he had toward this girl. "Tom," he said shortly, and then nodded back towards me. "That's Rainy. You?"

The girl's eyes narrowed as she responded daringly loud. "Melantha. I don't belong in this motherf—king place. Wherever 'this place' is…" She gave him a look so hard that she probably could've gotten Chuck Norris to back down.

Tom sighed, and muttered the shorten version of the speech he gave yesterday. With each detail, Melantha's eyes grew wider until they were round as saucers.

"F—k" she muttered, lowering her head in an attempt to hide her worried expression. "Couldn't we try to—"

Before she finished, Tom slammed his hand against the brick wall in an attempt to shut her up and looked at her, both frightened and angry. "Don't you dare say that word or we'll all be shot upside the side."

Melantha bit her lip, looking terrified. She ducked out of the window, maybe to cry or something, considering the whimpering I could hear.

No, wait, that couldn't be her, because it was closely followed by more cussing and threats for whoever it was to shut up. I stepped back up to the window, arching my neck to see Melantha sitting beside what seemed to be a smaller version of her. Her sister, I guess. I made an instinctive, sympathetic moan in my throat, thinking about what would happen to the scrawny little thing in judgment.

Tom seemed to sense this, too, and, before I could say something I regret, he put a comforting hand on my shoulder and drew me back to him, close enough to whisper in my ear.

"Let them enjoy life while they can…" he said softly as I stared forward, horrified.

***

I don't know what time it was when I woke up that night, but it was late. The moon was completely concealed by looming clouds, so it would've been pitch black if not for the searchlights that endlessly swept back and forth on the laboring fields outside.

There was this noise in the air that was, well… beautiful. Like a million little harps all wrapped up inside a blanket of harmony. Seriously, it made me feel the best that I have ever since I got here.

As I listened, I detected the noises twisting themselves into words, coming from the next cell over, the soft little squeaks seeming to cradle my soul.

"_And I find it kind of funny…_" the girl's voice sang, "_I find it kind of sad. The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had…_"

That was when I realized why the singing was so charming: the pitches were ones that only a daughter of Apollo, and a blessed one, at that, could've mustered up. As fast as possible, I was up and running to the window, where the little skinny girl sat with a look of peace pasted across her face.

"Hey!" I whispered sharply, and she looked up, startled, staring at me with those big, round eyes that resembled Melantha's.

When I got no response other than that, I spoke a little softer and kinder. "You shouldn't be singing. If they hear, they'll come for you." I trembled, right now fearing nothing more than the sound of the rusty wheels of that carts sliding across the concrete floor.

The little girl smiled as if my warning were cute, which was really annoying, considering that she was at least, like, four years younger than I was. "What could they do?" she asked, ignorant to the world she sat in. "It's just singing."

"You don't understand," I said, looking around like some paranoid lunatic. "Everything you do is a strike against you here. No mercy, no love, just hate. Hate, and hurt, and loss…"

The girl stared at me, confirming my fear that I sounded like an idiot. "Who are you?" she asked, standing and coming to the window.

"Rainy…" I said, "Daughter of Demeter. And you?"

"Addison…" she said sadly. "Apollo."

I wrung my hands nervously. "Addison, this place is dangerous. If you give one of these guys a funny look, they'll have no obligation in knocking out one of your eyes. You want to attract as little attention as possible."

Addison looked back at me as if I were speaking Russian. She didn't offer much else to say, and I was completely drained, so I backed off, turning back to my bunk and pulling up the papery sheets.

Not three minutes later, though, she was back at it, picking up where she left off.

"_I find it hard to tell you, I find hard to take. When people run in circles it's a very, very…_"

A door at the end of the hallway slammed open, followed by heavy footsteps coming down the hallway, straight towards us.

"_Mad world…_"

The door hinges creaked as her cell way opened. I could now hear fear in Addison's voice as she halted after another "_Mad world…_"

I didn't need to see what happened from there. I didn't want to hear it, either. There was a shriek, and a tearing noise, followed by a _THWOMP_. Then sobbing, and Melantha's swearing as she tried to help her little sister… but it was all in vain. After a few more minutes of the noises the blinded me with fear, Addison's sobs became softer, and her breathing became no more.

I gasped, looking at Tom with tears in my eyes. Tom, now fully awake and alert, stared back at me, seeming to read my soul like a novel. His eyes were filled with dread, yet, somehow, it wasn't dread for Addison. It was for _me_.

I stared down at my sheets, no longer being able to look into his tormented eyes, and cried for everything and everyone.

Tom came to me, sitting beside me and putting a comforting arm around me, shielding me as if he were my older brother. "This is just what happens here…" he said, his voice shaking as if he might cry, too. "This is Lithium."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Aww, now I'm so sad. Thanks for reading! Just like the past chapters, this was written by both me (Amy) and Rainy. Reviews are appreciated! Ciao!**


	4. Chapter 4

Sometime later that night (or maybe it was early that morning, I really don't know, nor do I care) I was awoken again by the loud sound of deep, shouting voices giving things like "Wake up!" and "Get out here!" and some of those other good morning to you common sayings. Blinking back the sleep in my eyes, I craned my neck to see out the bars (against my better judgment, naturally), and let my insides freeze like one of them instant icy pack thingies.

Kids were being evacuated from their cells and were standing shoulder to shoulder like we were all gathering for a deadly game of Simon Says. I couldn't see the expression on their faces, but my assumption was that they definitely weren't a happy ones… quite the contrary, really, I'd say they were more likely near pissing themselves in fright (please excuse my French… Lithium does things to you). Before I could even take in what was happening, a clammy hand took hold of my arm and yanked me up like a carrot.

"Rainy! Hurry up!" Tom said, that same defensive quiver in his voice as he whispered.

"What? What's happening?" was all that I could say in pure bewilderment as he shoved me out the now unlocked door and into the night.

"The faster you move the better."

I sighed in frustration and utter confusion as we stood outside the cell. It wasn't long before Melantha was standing next to me, too, still in her pajamas from when she first arrived here. To my surprise, she stayed quiet with minimal swearing and only gave a misty, if not bored look. _Probably still shaking after the incident with Addison… _

I stood there, motionless in my place. With the whole of my body feeling weak and sore, I felt as if I could fall asleep right there, but I braved it on, taking another deep breath and stealing a glance at Tom. He stood erect with full attention on the brick wall in front of him like an eejit in the dry fields. I tried doing the same. Throughout this long standing time, I could hear the screams of other kids as they were shuffled out of their cells and outside into the very bowels of our snaking line. Most of them were just as confused as I was. I shut my eyes, praying for the noise to stop.

"Get in line!" A man shouted. He carried a very loud and very deep voice that sounded like someone had given him the tone of a tiger's growl. Then a whistle blew, and the entire building, if not the whole world, was engulfed in silence. Blinking around, I saw that there were tons of halfbloods now standing side by side outside the cells. The large men in uniforms seemed to pacing persistently as they watched their prisoners with eyes of a hawk. A group of those mutant minotaurs stood in back, and when one of them met my glances and gave me a cruel, condescending smile, I dropped my gaze to the floor and blinked back tears of terror.

It didn't take me long to realize what was happening. The pacing men started grabbing kids and pulling them forward, perhaps at random, perhaps not. If their was some pattern to it, I sure wasn't catching on. I straightened my posture a bit as one passed me up to study Melantha carefully, and then pass her up as well.

That was when I looked over to Tom, who returned my glance with a relieved gesture. I nodded and took up my statue form again as the man yanked another kid forward hard enough to make him fall down.

"Get up!" He shouted gruffly to the kid, who looked up at him from beneath floofy red hair with a freckled mug. He looked to be around eleven or twelve, was pale and scrawny and his gray uniform had practically fallen off of him. Only giving half an effort to struggle his way back up, he hit the ground once more in a sobbing heap. His body shook in fear and exhaustion. The man that stood before growled under his breath and reached down to grab the crying kid by his collar. He yanked him up off the cement floor and practically shoved him against the wall, pinning him down with a bear like paw.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The kid screeched between sobs. Showing no sympathy, the man reached around his belt until he brought out a dark object. My heart nearly stopped as I realized what it was: a pistol. He had grabbed for a jet black pistol.

"Oh." I gasped, suddenly realizing what he planned to do.

The kid had about two seconds to scream before the trigger was pulled and the others around him in line were showered in red.

I held my breath, feeling tears sting in my eyes and down to my chin as I quickly looked away. Minutes passed as the kids who were chosen were quickly led away from the group and towards the gray building that, as I had already learned, nobody ever returned from.

"Back to your cells!" came the man with the whistle. Without even glancing in that direction, I quickly scurried back to the cell that belonged to Tom and I, where I sat down against the wall, numb to my surroundings. Tom followed in, hesitating only slightly before coming to sit next to me. We sat in silence for a long time just staring out into the dark night; my head resting on the cold concrete wall as I felt a small tear escape one of my eyes.

"Get used to it." Tom said bluntly. I turned my head to face him. "Get used to everything." He paused and looked back at me, his dark eyes plagued with pain. I nodded back, biting my lip.

"Believe me, I'm trying." My voice quivered.

Tom nodded. It was hard to see his face in the darkness of the cell, but I could tell his wasn't smiling.

"It seems… it seems like things are really inconsistent around here." I said, trying to change the subject and calm my nerves. I heard Tom chuckle to himself.

"Hey!" I snapped, letting myself smile a bit. Tom looked to the outside world, then back at me.

"We're in a monster infested replica of a concentration camp. Do you really think they have an exact schedule to let us know when snack time is?" he laughed bitterly. I shrugged.

"Well they could." I said, trying to be humorous. Apparently it didn't come out the right way because there was an awkward pause between us. Then, after a few seconds, Tom sat up a little against the wall.

"Hey, I have a question." He said, looking at me with a hint of random curiosity.

"Yeah?" I answered instinctively, blue eyes shooting up in a sparkle on curiosity.

"Is… is your name really Rainy?" He asked. I giggled softly.

"Well, I guess so. It was originally Rain, but when I was little it was always 'Rainy'."

Tom nodded, pursing his lips as his gaze pierced through the night.

"Bet you get that question a lot, huh?" He inferred, keeping his glance on the darkness. I shrugged.

"You'd be surprised."

And there we sat; talking about things that friends would talk about over dinner. It was amazing; you know how lightly we could make the situation, even if we were thrown in a 'monster infested replica of a concentration camp'. It eased the mood, made us feel more at home. Yet it wasn't freedom, it was close enough.

"Tom?" I asked after a few seconds, my voice deep and rough like sandpaper on your knuckles.

"Yeah? What is it?" He answered, staring blankly into the distance.

"How… how long do you think we'll be here?" I asked. My voice had dropped to a whisper immediately regretting that I let hose words escape. I waited for Tom to answer, but all I got was silence. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to answer or not, but then I got my reply.

"As long as we keep our hope." It was so plain, so simple, yet so true. I looked at him to see little tears roll down his cheeks in ones and twos.

"We'll need more than hope." I said, letting my head rest on his shoulder in hopes of comfort. I'll admit, at that my heart did flurry. As I sat there, looking out into the warm summer night, I began to reminisce. I had seen too many people die in front of me in the past twenty-four hours. My glance swept to the flower I had grown earlier. And, to my surprise, it had wilted to a brown shrub. This was when I felt my shoulders tremble in grief and rage all at once. I hated this place! I wanted to go back to Camp Half-blood, just like everyone else here. I wanted to know that I had a future. I wanted to live.

I felt Tom put his reassuring arm around me, and it was then that we both seemed to realize something. No matter what happened, we both needed each other.

"Tom, look!" I said, pointing to the dark sky, probably sounding like some ditzy blonde. "The moon is full! Artemis is watching over us tonight." My voice sounded wistful, full of said hope that we needed. I tilted my head up to see he was bearing a small grin. The light of the moon shone on his dirty face as it let off beams of… strange enough, amusement.

"Good to know you have such strong faith in that stuff," he muttered bluntly. I lifted my head, confused at his answer.

"What? What do you mean 'that stuff'?" I asked. Tom shook his head.

"We should be sleeping," he sighed indifferently. His voice had an edge to it now. I felt like he was cutting me off, which, ya duh, he was!. He got up from where he was sitting and progressed toward his side of the cell. I stayed where I was against the wall staring after him on hot coals.

"Tom!" I said sharply. I could've sworn he was hiding something under the mud on his face.

"_Rainy_!" Tom shot back with a tired yet persistent glance. "You heard me, we need to sleep." When he said, it seemed like he felt as if he had some authority over me. I stood up so our eyes met- my blue ones to his dark brown ones.

"But what do you _mean_?" I asked again. Well, actually it was more like begging again. Tom looked at the moon discontentedly, then back at me.

"It doesn't matter. Not here, not now." He began to lie down on the mattress, pulling his tattered blanket up like a shield from my disapproving stare. He left me in utter confusion. Leave it to my indignancy (is that a word?) to get the best of me.

"It _does_ matter! What, are you saying, you don't believe in the gods? Are you saying that we're all stupid for having faith in them? Our whole purpose of being here is because the gods live! They are on our side!" By this point, I was practically yelling. The sadness, the confusion, the anger, all those bottled up emotions seemed to be pouring out right now. Tom sat up. I could barely see his face in the dark, just what was shined upon by the moon.

"Oh, so the gods are on our side you say? Maybe that's not entirely true!" he snapped. I took a heavy breath and sat over on my mattress.

"How can you say that?" I demanded with firm tone. There was a hesitant pause before Tom answered.

"I have my right to an opinion, don't I?" he inquired. "Listen, just look at it this way. If the gods are there for us, then why are we here?" It was a reasonable question, but by now my head was spinning.

"They can't pass through those fences, Tom! You know that! Not even Zeus can, or at least I don't think. This place it's run by Kronos and his sick little servants. My best guess is that those men in the uniforms are his recruits from years back!" I shouted. Well, not exactly "shouted"… I'm not an idiot.

"At least you don't _think_," he mocked. Frustrated, I punched the mattress and then pulled the thin blanket over me. Forgetting about how sore I was in my position, all I could think about was what Tom said.

"Well, what about hope?" I mumbled. Tom was silent, but I could tell he was still awake. I slammed the cell wall with my foot. "Ouch!" I breathed at the pain from the kick. I felt another hot tear roll down my cheek.

"Rainy, please-"

"No Tom! You know what; we're all going to die here anyways, right? So what's the point whether you tell me or not!" I cut him off, my voice breaking everywhere.

"Rainy!" This time his voice was loud and hoarse. My heart jumped at the sound of it. I bit my lip to keep my mouth shut.

"Damn it." I mumbled, gritting my teeth and letting tears soak into my pillow. I didn't get much sleep that night, but when I did find myself in dreamland, all I could see was myself in a cage, crying, with Tom in another cage, wide eyes as we slowly died.

**XXX**

**A/N- Okay, a few things… **

**First off, sorry for the long spaces in between updates. For starters, this story is being co-authored by me and Amy, so it's hard to get the document from one person to the other. Second, this is a hard story to write! It's sad, dark, gory, yet we still write it. It gets pretty challenging to keep things at a consistent level of hell. (If you catch my drift…) _(I don't know what you mean, Rainy, consistent level of Hell is my specialty XD)_**

**Second of all, just so ya know, we're not completely heartless! We don't write these kinds of stories on a daily basis, we are not emo, and we don't have a collection of heavy metal posters. We're normal! (Well, at least we hope, lol.) **

**And lastly, because of this story I've been doing a lot of research lately about the Holocaust and Anne Frank. This includes watching the 2001 movie called "Anne Frank: The Whole Story." In honor of the movie, I've hidden a quote from the movie in this chapter of Lithium. Can you find it?**

**Till next time, **

**~Rainy and Amy**


	5. Chapter 5

My heart pounded brilliantly in my chest as I looked up the hill, feeling the wind rush through my hair and carry down the familiar scents of the endless pines trees and strawberry fields that lay just before me. I was home; back at camp. Finally. I was alive. I was free.

From the top of the hill came a chorus of voices, all screaming, "Rainy! Rainy! Is that you?" and, when I looked to find their owners, I could've dropped to my knees and cried. Sarah, Amy, and Sunshine were all standing up there beside Thalia's pine, smiling and laughing and welcoming me home. Home. I was home.

But then I blinked a fatal blink of wakefulness, and, suddenly, they weren't laughing. All they did was smile down at me with glassy eyes and soulless grins, their skin beginning to turn a dead, pale gray color, just like the rest of the world, and I found myself crying and screaming, watching there blood slowly tumble down their necks and land with a crash. "No!" I was crying, grabbing fistfuls of my own blond hair and sinking to my knees. "No, stop it!"

The ground below me split open, and I fell through it, tumbling down, down, down, and I found myself hoping to hit the ground. I was praying for death. Screaming for it to come.

And then a hand clamped down hard and strong on my mouth, and I sat up lightning fast, sweating and kicking and fighting hard. Mostly, though, all I could find myself doing was sobbing, whispering to myself, "I can't stay here. I have to get out. I have to. I _have to._"

Tom stayed solemn as he wrapped a fist round one of my ankles to keep me from kicking out his jaw, and another round my wrist to calm my struggling. I was gasping and crying, all of the fear and rage and sorrow finally forcing its way out of the cage that I'd barred it in.

Then I couldn't bare it any longer. Letting out another whimper of despair, I pulled my wrist free and wrapped my arms round Tom, burying my head in his chest as I sobbed. "I'm sorry," I found myself sighing.

Tom didn't say a thing, he just stayed still as the dead, like I was hugging a flagpole. Breathing deep, I pulled back and looked at my surroundings carefully, seeing the rising sun. "They'll be coming soon," I whispered, rocking back and forth. "I can't do this anymore. I've been here for two days, maybe, and I'm… I'm willing to die. There doesn't seem to be any other way out."

My voice was back to normal, but my face must've still been red and puffy as ever. With a bit of embarrassment towards the breakdown I'd just had, I turned my eyes back to a silent Tom and froze in my place, shocked beyond words.

Tom was crying. _Tom_. No, he can't cry, he's the one who's supposed to maintain balance here. If he doesn't who will.

Clenching my teeth hard, I hugged him once more, not quite as desperately, just comfortingly. "Tom…" I whispered.

Slowly, like a melting iceberg caving in from inside out and crashing down with a great rise of waves, Tom moved just a bit, putting one arm around me, followed by the other. "I'm sorry, Rainy."

We were hugging. I mean, seriously, here we were, two prisoners in a concentration camp where all hope is diminished, and still we'd found hope hidden deep within each other. Hope. Just hope; that's all.

Then came a noise from outside the cell, like heavy footsteps coming to a halt. We quickly let loose our grasps looked up to see a man in our opened cell door, not even looking at us, but at the clipboard he held. "Subject C912," he sighed, eyes finally flicking to us. I heard Tom stifling a sigh through his nose and standing up obediently. Judgment… dear Zeus, Tom was going in for judgment. What if he was put against someone better than him? What if he doesn't come back?

In retrospect, I now know that that wouldn't have been a problem because, before the man had even batted a lash, the officer said in his plain, monotonous voice. "Subject D874, you're needed as well."

There was a pause in the air, and Tom and I looked at each other for a moment, our faces identical as we realized the awful truth: we were to be judged against each other. One of us was to die.

Robotically, I stood up, fearing for my life, or at least what I still held onto. As the two of us were lead out of the cell, something became clear to us; we weren't able to fend for each other anymore, it was every man for himself now (or vice versa, if you please). The man held us both at the shoulders, his grip seemed to cut into my very blood flow, making it hard to follow, but I did.

The entire walk from our cell, across the labor yard where other kids (Groups A and B) were pausing slightly to watch us as we go bye, and into the gray building was a terrible blur in which I couldn't think; just cry softly and take small breaths, not want to go on. Before I could blink, I was in front of an all too familiar bloodstained door and flung into an all too familiar dark room. Déjà vu much?

Only this time it was different. This time, Tom was with me, and, even though we could both feel the terrible truth weighing down on our shoulders, I couldn't help but feel that this was more or less a good thing. At least we had each other to spend last moments with. My last moments, that is, because I know it's going to be me.

We sat in the darkness, staring at each other, our gazes searching for salvation as neither one of us dared to move. I took a shaky breath as I finally pulled my gaze away, trying to remember my last day. My last breaths. My last thoughts. I knew well that my face was still red and puffy, and that bruises and cuts ran along my weak, pale body my, and that my hair looked like a mess, probably filled with grime and grease and toxic radiation and what not.

And then my final feelings were for Tom, and how much I needed him. If only there were some way we could survive this together. I want to be with him forever. I want it so badly.

In the midst of my silent reminiscing, a door from the back opened, and from it emerged a man. I couldn't see him too well from where I was sitting, but I guess he must've been pretty important.

"Stand up," were his words. Unlike any other words I'd heard since I got here, they sounded a bit humored and… light? It wasn't as deep as the other men around here. The voice sounded like it came from a boy, not even in his twenties yet. This led to a look of confusion from me as Tom and I stood up, shoulders pressing against each other. I was so tempted to clasp his hand, and maybe he even felt a bit similarly, but neither of us did for fear of what the guards might do.

"Damn it, I can't see a thing. Turn that light on." It was then that I noticed a mutant minotaur was standing next to him with a lantern-type object that, when switched on, set a low illumination over the room and finally allowed me to look upon his face.

He bore sleek black hair that fell over in bangs across his pale forehead and gave a shadow over condescending eyes that were a striking brown, staring with such an intense look that it sent shivers down my spine. Unlike the gray uniforms of the other men, he wore a brown suede jacket and a black shirt with black, ripped jeans. His disposition seemed little more contented compared to the others, like he held some sort of power that gave him all the confidence in the world. Maybe this guy might even be the "Hitler" of the place.

As the light flickered, the man looked at Tom momentarily, and brushed over his glance to me. Then again, and again. He did this quite a few times. _This is it. _I thought to myself. And I was right, this _was_ it. I was about to die. Thoughts began to jumble in my head, ranging all over the place. The word death hung over our heads. It wasn't that we were afraid of, it was who would die that terrified us both. Finally, after the longest few seconds of my life, the man looked at Tom, then to the minotaur. His words struck me like a judge's gavel.

"Take this young man back to his cell." He said. With those words my thoughts swam. My heart thumped at what seemed to be a thousand beats per minute, my hands began to shake immensely. I was going to die.

"N-no." I squeaked. Tom's eyes were wide as the minotaur took hold of him and began to drag him out of the room. It was then I did something completely out of my insane mind. "Tom!" I screamed, watching him being lead out of the room. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around him, crying tears of ballistic fear. A strong grasp grabbed my arms from around him and yanked me back, bending them far back so that I could not move. I didn't care. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

"Well," said the young man holding me so tight that it was not blood, but pain that kept me rooted to this world. "If you feel so strongly about this, maybe we should take this outside."

_What? _Take it outside? It wasn't until we were out the door and back behind the building that I finally understood... He was going to make Tom watch me die.

As we stepped outside, his grasp still paralyzing me and the tears still running, I heard storm clouds rumble and rain begin to drizzle down upon the camp. A Minotaur demon approached me with a short rope and bound my hands tight, not even receiving a struggle in return.

Then the man, now smiling from ear to ear, thrust me against a wall, and I hit it with nothing to defend myself or to stop me from sinking to the ground so when I pushed myself to stand back up, I could feel the blood running down my face. The rain was getting heavier and the tears were washing the blood down a bit, but did it really matter now? I stood there vulnerably against the bloodstained wall, watching the man closely, but finding him only looking at me with an evil glowing plan in his eyes.

Then I turned my head to Tom, seeing him struggling hard against the two beasts that held him secure, trying so hard to break free and do Zeus knows what. Mr. Hitler followed my gaze over to him as well, and, just like that, instead of killing me, he smiled a horrible smile and seemed to get another idea.

"Such a pretty girl," he cooed, which snapped both Tom and I to attention. Neither one of us made a single movement as he started a slow walk over to me, eyes murderous and lips curled into a twisted little smile. "It's very rare that I find myself a girl so pretty."

Okay, so let me emphasize a few things here. This dude was, like, 17, maybe even older, and here's me, a weak little 14-year-old girl backed against a wall with a guy bordering on insane stepping closer to me with a look almost like he wants to eat me whole. This pushes way past the boundary of terrifying.

And now he's directly in front of me, so close that I can smell alcohol on his breath as he's brushing my bangs out of my face, looking into my cornered blue eyes. Tom's staring at this whole scene with a pale face, his mouth just slightly opened. The tension in the air is dense, now that my death isn't the thing we're fearing most.

Then Hitler's hand slips behind my head and grabs a fistful of my hair, snapping my head back, and I give a little a shriek of surprise as he slams me against the wall once more. "You want to live, don't you?" he asked with the confident smile, letting my hair go and looking me in the eye.

Then a voice that seemed to be miles away broke the deafening silence, and the guy spun right round to where Tom was screaming, "GET AWAY FROM HER _NOW_ YOU BASTARD!"

And that was all the time that I needed to straighten myself out and charge into this guy, bringing my leg round and kicking him in the stomach, sending him stumbling back for a few dazed moments. But not for long.

"Little bitch," he roared, looking back to me. In one quick movement, he grabbed me by the shoulders, threw me back and slammed me into the wall so hard that I slid to the ground, crying once more and watch him back away a good 30 or 40 feet.

From inside his jacket, the man retrieved a jet black handgun and aimed it at me, trying to steady himself despite the fact that he was trembling in rage, probably having never come across someone with the nerve to kick like I did. I took a deep, shaky breath and tried to flatten myself against the wall, lifting my head up to the heavens to take one good long look at the gray sky as the rain began to pour. Then, I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing what was next to come.

_BAM! BAM!_

A body dropped to the ground, but it wasn't mine. I sat there completely stock-still.

"_What the hell?" _

Nothing. I felt nothing except for the rain soaking me to the bone, as if I would drown in it at any moment. But I didn't care, because, at that moment, I opened my eyes and found a pair of dark, tear filled ones staring back at me. "Tom…"

Although he had two bullets sunken into his chest and was half-consciously bleeding everywhere, Tom was still hanging on to that last thread of life. "Tom! _No_!"

Now near to death, Tom opened his mouth just a little, a contented smile coming onto his lips. "Rainy?" he asked, his eyes not really looking anywhere.

I was speechless as I looked down at him, wanting so badly to take it back. Why did he do it? Why would he take a bullet for me?

"Rainy," he said again, now seeming to sink, only seconds left before being forever sealed away. "I'm sorry that we fought."

The rain seemed to come down harder as I threw my soaked body on top of his, crying uncontrollably and feeling him weakly wrap his arms around me as his own breath slowed "No, please don't die!" I whimpered, and he gave a small chuckle as he disobeyed. "Tom," I said again, but this time, there was no response, and with my head on his chest, I heard his heart stop.

_Thump, thump… thump, thump… thump….thump… _and then nothing.

_Dammit, Tom! Why did you do that? _I steadied myself and lifted my head up to the gray sky, focusing on a small pinch of sunlight as it broke in the far distance, but become covered up again just as quick. It was strange almost, between my sadness and anger and not knowing what to feel, I guess that now I was just another one of those clouds, endlessly drifting to nowhere real, and yesterday doesn't matter and tomorrow might not come. A place where I didn't feel safe, but didn't feel unsafe either. Just contented.

**A/N- Okay, I wanna give some **_**serious **_**credit to Amy on this one. She wrote like three fourths of this whole thing. (Really, I was shocked… Like… Whoa…) Thank you so very frickin' much! **

**Heavy chapter huh? Probably my favorite so far ;) Another reminder, this story ties in with Amy's story, "Band of the Authors" So if you're really looking for a Lithium reference while I'm getting my lazy butt to a computer to update, that's your story. **

**I've gotta say though, I am very sorry for not updating… Fanfiction hasn't exactly been on my top priority list lately, with schoolwork and such, but if the demand is high, I will update. Merry Christmas to all, and Happy 2010. **

**~Rainy ;D **


	6. Chapter 6

Hitler sent me back to my cell. I don't know why the hell was sent back, but all the same I found myself standing stock-still, caught in between these all too familiar four walls and feeling my emotions spins round and round, far too fast for me to even be able to latch on to. I didn't know why I was so wet, but I continued to drip-drip away, and I don't know why I wasn't crying. It just felt like… nothing.

There were no words to describe my feeling as I had been thrust back into the dungeon that I had now recognized as "home" for the past two or three days. Or was it four? I didn't give a damn anymore. From the way I looked at it, time ran together, and every day was just another moment I was still alive. But was this, I wonder, a good thing or a bad thing?

Tears…

They didn't come to me. The feelings inside me, the sadness, the anger, the hate, the confusion… They just made me numb. For a few seconds there, there was nothing. _I_ was nothing. Just a heart pounding rapidly in my chest, threatening to explode… Okay, maybe not the exploding part. But then a name crept into my empty thought process.

Tom.

Tears. They hit me, right there. My gaze turned to the empty bunk that would remain empty and, they drenched my already soaked and ripped t-shirt.

And then…

And then I felt the pain. The inner pain, the outer pain, the blood running down my face from who knows what, I felt it all. I wanted to scream, but I remembered what the guards did to people who made a scene. My body shook, it shook so hard that it hurt. Silent sobs were all that hit me.

Before I knew it, my head hit edge of my thin mattress and I half-fell asleep, half knocked myself out onto it.

However, perhaps just mere minutes later, an angry kick to my stomach was what woke me up. With a thin hope that it would be Tom warning me to get up, my expectant gaze wandered up to reach his, but couldn't find it. Instead, it found the cold gaze of yet another guard. The sheer disappointment of not seeing him would have made me cry all on it own if the man hadn't had said something first.

"You look like hell. Get up." His words were cold as ice, but I didn't mind. As a matter of fact, I really wasn't all that scared anymore. Reluctantly, with a little trouble, I managed to stand myself up. Sleeping seemed to have helped, but not by much.

Darkness had fallen, and I wasn't sure how late it was. "Yes?" I said to the guard, whose eyes were hidden behind sunglasses dark sunglasses.

"The boss would like to have a word with you in his office," he said, his voice eerily monotone that struck intimidation upon me… As always. He grabbed my arm and started walking us out of the cell and across the camp towards the main building.

Gunshots rang out, and frightened cries from helpless Halfbloods were all that filled the atmosphere of the cool summer night. Barefoot, I tried not to limp in this man's grip, but it was hard.

We didn't enter through the front door of the building; instead we went through a side door that lead us into a small, brightly lit hallway. The hallway had only a few doors within it, and we headed straight towards the largest one at the very end.

Without knocking, the man opened the door and shoved my in front of him. Who I saw sitting at the desk struck anger and a sense of defeat right to my core, and the very sight of him made me want to scream, kick, and cry. It made me want to get on me knees and beg for Tom to be spared, but it was too late for that, wasn't it?

This was the man who killed Tom. His dark hair looked all too familiar; the smirk on his face was all too threatening.

"We meet again." He said in a voice that sent shivers down my spine. He glanced behind me and motioned for the officer to leave, locking the door behind him. "Sit. Now," he told me (well more like ordered). In front of his metallic desk, there was a small folding chair that he motioned for me to sit on.

It was here that I realized we weren't the only ones in the room. Behind his desk was a small couch, and on the couch sat a young girl. She looked to be about seventeen with skin as pale as a ghost. Long dark hair covered her brown eyes, which look to be almost the same as Hitler's, yet they didn't seem like Hitler's at all when she looked at me. They weren't as cold and heartless as his were. She wore a black dress with fishnet gloves, and her nails were painted black. I took interest in this girl for some reason, but not for long.

"So, Rainy… Not looking to good are we?" The man said. His tone was mocking. He was still wearing the same clothing as before, the same clothing that had been etched into my brain.

I closed my eyes as my ears rang and I breathed heavily the same name echoing again and again in my head. _Tom. Tom._

_Tom…_

"What the hell do you want?" I suddenly spat out, surprised at how confident I sounded.

The man sighed and turned around to the girl behind him. "Amy, can you excuse us for a moment?" The girl, "Amy" apparently, stood up, looking down at him with a look of disgust.

"Leave this goddamned girl alone, Caleb."

Caleb, that's his name… Amy stood up to him so confidently. It struck me that I had never seen someone, especially a younger girl, stand up to him that way. This girl, whom I had never met, had won my respect in the two seconds of "meeting" her.

"Amy, get out of my office. Now." This time startled me, for he had yelled that last word pretty hard. Amy remained motionless with his outburst, but shot me a distressed look. Out from her brown bag that she carried, she set a small handful of bread into my lap before she left. I stared at it, then at Caleb.

"Well…" he said impatiently, as if this were on huge inconvenience. "Eat it."

Without thinking, I cupped the bread in my hand, and into my lap. I swallowed it piece by piece until there was no bread left.

It wasn't stale like the bread I'd had before. It was fresh, and went down easily. Something this simple felt like a delicacy to me. Once I was done, I looked up to Caleb, who had been sitting there, watching my every move. He didn't say anything, he just stared at me. His brown eyes weren't looking into mine, like he wasn't staring directly at me, but just looking at me. And then… I realized that it was only he and I in this small room, together.

"Rainy," his eyes became little slits in his face. "I really, really admire your courage."

"What?" Something didn't feel right… I began to feel a different kind of fear.

"Really I do," he kept on, beginning to stand up from his chair, stealthily walking around the desk. I tensed and remained seated, but kept my wary gaze on him until he was standing right behind me.

"Admire your… willfulness." His voice got low, scary low. I felt a hand touch my greasy, unwashed hair and stroke it, intertwining its fingers down at the bottom. The hand reached down to firmly grip my shoulder.

"Get your dirty hands off me," I mumbled under my breath, eyes closed as I felt my throat going tight. _No escape._

"What was that?" uttered Caleb. The thing was, his hand didn't stop moving. I crept its way down my arm, and quite honestly, I was feeling violated. His hand then met mine, and he grabbed it. Then it was almost reflexes that made me slap his hand away. I grabbed it and shoved it back at him, standing up while doing so.

"Why the fuck are you doing this? Why don't you just kill me and be done with it?" I shouted so loud that it scared even me. Fire raged in my eyes, and kept burning as Caleb smiled manically.

"You wanna know why I don't just kill you, darling? Well, I rather enjoy watching this."

"Watching what? My pain? " I stuttered, tears rising to my face as Caleb nodded.

"Trust me, Rainy… I'm not done yet. Let me have my fun while I can." I could only stand there motionless, bottom lip trembling as I stumbled back.

"You… bastard…" I squeaked in shock. My mind went blank. What the hell did this guy think I was? Some sort of lost lonely little… I lost my thought process before I finished that sentence. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Why… Thank you. Actually, that's an adjective even Zeus uses for me. Now go away. We'll talk later."

Almost right after he said that, a guard, the same guard, came into the room and escorted me out the room, and back to my cell. On my way back, I couldn't help but notice Amy had been sitting outside silently leaning against the concrete wall.

I hit my cell floor with a thud, taking a moment to look at my surroundings. It was still dark, maybe darker. Right now, my mind was just as numb as before.

All I could really think to do was lay my useless head against the stupid mattress. For once, the gunshots were silent, and all was eerily peaceful.

Innocence, innocence cried out from the demigods trapped inside these god-free walls. Demeter… Did she know I was here? Did she care? Then, a thought hit me.

My head shot up from the mattress and my first thought was to call through Melantha's window.

"Melantha, you awake? Wake up! It's important!" My fist wrapped against one of the bars until I heard shuffling from the other side.

"The fu-" I heard a whisper, and soon a head popped up into my vision from behind these rusted bars that kept us separated.

"Rainy, you crazy? Go back to bed… Woah, what happened to you? Where's that Tom kid? Did he… Oh... Damn… Rain, I-"

"Melantha! Listen, please…" I half pleaded. "I was thinking… Really thinking… Melantha, why are we here?"

She blinked and looked at me like I was some sort of idiot. "We're Halfbloods. I thought you knew that."

"No, like… Ugh! I don't get it. What did we ever do to deserve something like this? What did we ever do to deserve this treatment?" I was almost about to go off on some sort of ramble, until we both heard footsteps.

"Shit," Melantha whispered. "Them guards are coming, get down!" There was a two second pause before I cowered down like a mouse behind Tom's bed (_Tom…_), wishing the guard would just forget we were here. I counted the beats as the footsteps came closer.

Three… Two… One…

"Hello?" a timid voice rang out. "It… It's okay… I'm not a guard, I promise…" This voice was a bit high pitched, if not nervous sounding, as if the girl was a Lithium prisoner herself. A dark figure stepped in front of my cell, and a sense of relief washed over me as I saw who it was. Amy.

"H-hello?" Was all I could think to say. I crawled towards the bars of the cell like a caged dog to get a better look at her. She carried with her a lit candle, which she set right next to me. Bending down, she opened her brown bag. She was still wearing the same dress as before. I felt Melantha crawl over to the end of her cell, trying to see what was going on. From her bag, she took out two little pills and slipped them through the bars of the cells to both Melantha and me. I fingered the small pill curiously, about to shout in joy realizing what they were. Adrenaline rushed through my body.

"Holy shit!" Melantha mumbled. "These can't be…"

"They are," Amy finished. "Ambrosia, you can take it later, but now we have to talk." Her brown eyes seemed serious yet solemn as she said this, her pale face nearly glowed in the dim candlelight as her gaze reached mine. "You… You're the girl from earlier, you're… Rainy, right?"

I nodded. "And you're Amy. You were with Caleb when I saw you." Amy closed her eyes, as if she hadn't been listening to a word I had just said.

"What did Caleb do to you once I left?" Her soft voice became sharp with this question. I shook my head.

"Um, nothing really… He just kinda talked…'' I left out the part where he put his hand on me. Amy shook her head, becoming interested in the light of the candle.

"Well, I can tell you that you're lucky, he had worse things in mind than just 'talking.'"

"What? Rainy, where the heck were you?" Melantha chimed in. I had forgotten she was there. I had been so interested in Amy. There was something about that made you want to listen to her, that no matter what she said you'd agree and go along with it. It was almost eerie, the effect she made upon me.

I ignored Melantha. "Amy, why did you come here? There's got to be another reason than just wanting to chat. Are you even allowed to be out here?"

Amy sighed heavily. "Yes… and no. You see, Caleb, he's my older brother. I'm 17, he's 18, but that's beside the point. He's the mastermind of this wretched place, and me? I just visit. I'm finishing up high school out in Waukesha, living with my stepmom. You won't believe the look on my friends faces when I say my brother dropped out of high school to work for a dairy farm."

"A… dairy farm?" I suppressed.

"The mist," Amy explained. "Whenever people, mortals, drive past this place, to them it looks like a dairy farm."

"What, do we look like cows?" Melantha mumbled. Amy shrugged.

"Listen, my point is, I hate everything being done here. Every time a life is taken…" She didn't finish that sentence. "My brother, his… minions… I'm not with them, I swear, I'm not… that's why I'm here to help."

"What?" Help? Whoa, I was seriously going to start crying tears of joy for the first time in what seemed like ages. Help? I didn't even think to utter the word around here. Now there it was, blatantly being offered right under my nose. I almost pinched myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming.

"Yes… help." Amy repeated herself. "Rainy, I want to help liberate this gods forsaken place." Her voice grew quiet as she said this, knowing it would be costly if the wrong person were to overhear.

Was this an angel in my presence? Had my prayers been answered? "How do we get out?"

Amy lifted the flap of her bag once again and pulled out a jingling metal ring. The array of keys seemed to glimmer in the candlelight. "Trust me, I've got ways." She grinned. I mimicked her expression, smiling for the first time in what seemed like ages. It felt good to finally have hope. There was finally a glimmer of light to the situation.

"So what do we do?" I asked right away.

Amy pushed a wisp of her long black hair out of her face before answering.

"Let me explain…" XXX

**Can you BELIEVE that this next chapter is actually up? I can't. It seems like neither of us have been on for months… Anyways. I'll just say right now that I, Amy, had nearly nothing to do with the writing of this chapter. I just… Put in some edits, and then added… this… authors note… Heh. ^^ Anyways: Also, this character, Amy, who's Caleb's sister, is NOT me/my OC. We don't want there to be any confusion. ^_^ I'm sure Rainy will type an extension to this Author's not, so… I'ma go send this to her right now. Bye! **

**And this would be Rainy! (Whoa, howdja guess?) Yes we are back... I have no idea how long it's been... We really need to get up on this updating thing, people are getting mad lol. Ohh yes, exactly _who _Amy is will be revealed in comoing chapters. IS she a random character we threw in, nope! You'll see what we mean! Soo yes, thank you for reading our wonderfully depressing story we spit out onto fanfiction! Ciao! **


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